Japan to have lab to study deadly viruses

A biolab to study the most deadly pathogens, including the Ebola virus and Lassa fever, will appear in Japan, TASS reports

photo: www.reuters.com

According to Kyodo news agency, the lab could start operating in test mode as early as next month. It will be located at Nagasaki University in the southeast of the country.

There is one laboratory in Japan with the maximum, biosafety level four (BSL-4), but its activities are severely limited – it is mainly tasked with conducting tests to detect contamination, but not with studying the pathogens themselves.

In total, there are about 60 such biolabs in the world.